The consortium of companies that will build energy and industrial projects in the Kyaukphyu special economic zone (SEZ) in Myanmar have pledged to protect the environmental and social interests of local residents.
The China International Trust and Investment Corporation (CITIC) Construction company, together with four other Chinese companies and one Thai firm, formed a consortium that won the tender for building an industrial park and a deep sea port in the SEZ on Dec. 30, 2015.
“The investment of CITIC and our partners in Kyaukphyu was driven purely by business values,” Yuan Shaobin, vice chairman of CITIC Construction, told Xinhua, a state-owned news agency.
Before launching the projects, he said the consortium will hire well-known global companies to conduct environmental impact assessments.
“We want the local people to live in a more orderly, beautiful, convenient and comfortable Kyaukphyu,” Yuan said, adding that 2,000 job opportunities will be available for local residents.
Located in Rakhine State, the project includes a pipeline to transfer gas and oil to China.
“We need to find a way to preserve the environment while fundamentally improving the infrastructure, and share the dividends released by the projects with Myanmar and the local people,” Yuan said. He said the projects will be based on three concepts: social development, green development and common prosperity.
For social development, the consortium will analyze the projects' impact on the area and people, provide training opportunities to local people as well as anti-disaster and emergency rescue service, and set up 50 clinics and 50 schools in Rakhine State, he said.
The plan also calls for a development fund to support local government and residents’ needs, such as transportation, water supply, power supply, children's education, healthcare and dispensary services, and other projects in the area agriculture, poultry farming, aquaculture and fisheries, according to Xinhua.
The six-member consortium is charged with forming joint ventures with local enterprises to build and operate the projects under the framework of the Myanmar Special Economic Zone law.
“I hope the incumbent and incoming Myanmar governments can adhere to the path of democracy, reform and opening-up, and inject more impetus into its economic development,” Yuan said.